The present invention relates to vehicle accessories and especially to an attachment for a vehicle dashboard switch which adds a new accessory switch to an existing switch whereby both can be actuated simultaneously.
Most vehicles, such as automobiles, are equipped with various accessories which are switched on and off through switches attached to the dashboard of the vehicle. These includes switches for the headlights, taillights, and instrument lights, and switches for the windshield wipers used in cleaning the windshields of the vehicle during rainy or wet weather. Many states have adopted a statute requiring vehicle drivers to turn on their headlights and taillights during rainy, foggy or inclement weather and in states where such a statute has not been adopted it is usually recommended that drivers turn their headlights on as a safety factor to increase visibility of a vehicle by other vehicles. This, however, presents problems, such as when the inclement weather improves, and the operator forgets that his vehicle lights are on. When the operator parks his car at night, he readily recognizes that the lights are still on but in daylight inclement weather there is no visible indication that the lights are still on. This frequently allows the battery to rundown and leaves the operator stranded. To overcome this type of problem, there have been numerous suggestions for automatically actuating the headlights and taillights of the vehicle anytime the windshield wipers are turned on.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,119 and 3,500,120 safety automotive lighting circuits are provided in which the windshield wiper switch is inter-connected with the lighting switch. A similar electrical circuit is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,845 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,405 an automatic wiper light control system is provided for automatically turning on the headlights and taillights of the motor vehicle when the vehicle windshield wipers are turned on but allows the windshield wipers to be operated without the lights, such as when watching drive-in movies in the rain. U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,596 teaches a vehicle light switch apparatus for turning the lights of a vehicle on and off automatically upon turning the windshield wipers for the vehicle on and off by the attachment of an electrical switching circuit to an existing vehicle.
In contrast to these prior art inventions, the present invention teaches a vehicle attachment in which the knob and cover of a dashboard switch can be easily removed and replaced with a new decorative cover and knob incorporating a separate switch which will automatically actuate an accessory upon actuation of the dashboard switch. Wires leading from the decorative cover can pass through the dashboard behind the decorative cover, through a small hole drilled in the dashboard and when connected between a hot line and a light switch can actuate the lights as the windshield wipers are turned on and off. Many windshield wipers, however, incorporate a switch shaft which cannot only be rotated but can also be pushed inwards to actuate the windshield washer, and the present invention, advantageously, maintains this feature when changing the knob and cover for the switch.